# An Essay Concerning Human Understanding **Opening (not a real abstract):** Locke, John (1632-1704) - English philosopher who had a tremendous influence on human knowledge and on political theory. He set down the principles of modern English empiricism. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)An inquiry into the nature of knowledge that attempts to settle what questions human understanding is and is not equipped to handle. Locke states that all knowledge is derived from experience and the use of the five senses. **Authors:** [[John Locke]]